Monday, June 19, 2017

Launching ArchiCAD 21 in Kyoto, Part ii

[In part i last week, I listed Graphisoft's master plan for BIM, the future of ArchiCAD, and some of the features found in the new ArchiCAD 21 release. The travelogue continues.]

Tuesday evening Graphisoft held the Gala Dinner for Key Client Conference 2017. We were bussed to the Hyatt Regency hotel. I noted the irony at this American hotel striving to look Japanese, while the Japanese hotel at which we were staying strove to look European.

Here the special event was a demonstration of the 650-year-old art of Noh, in which a speaker emphasizes each syllable of every word, as if each were its own word -- accompanied by a half-dozen musicians playing aggressively on flute, drums, and with singing. (See figure 5.) Quoting John 1:1 from the Bible, the primary performer afterwards explained that there is power in words, and so in Noh they are expressed powerfully, while the musicians play off each other [in a jazz-like manner].

FIGURE 5: Noh performers at the Graphisoft Gala dinner

Graphisoft Customers Tell Their Stories

Afternoon on Tuesday and all day Wednesday we heard from Graphisoft customers. (See figure 6.) We saw remarkable projects, but also heard expressions of frustration about governmental systems.

FIGURE 6: Conference hall at the Kyoto Hotel Okura

Here are my notes about the notable statements customers made on the two days:

Darren Tims of HDR | Rice Daubney

"We find VR [virtual reality] sexy but not that useful yet; perhaps we'll find a use for it in the future."

"People often ask for a Revit model because they've been told to ask for it." His solution: ask them what they will do with it.

Unknown speaker:

"We want the best software, and not be controlled by a software company."

Speaker representing dRufus, the latest acquisition by Nemetschek:

"Just because we have a lot of data doesn't mean we have good data."

William Cheung of LWK & Partners:

In Hong Kong, BIM is not often used, except for collision detection, because the market is dominated by a few very large builders.

"Some clients don't want to go full BIM, especially government offices, because they have relied on 2D for many years." Government offices don't want to accept large drawing files, because that would require them to upgrade their computers.

On the other hand, designers are not keen to submit 3D BIM files, because they don't want the government to necessarily know all the details of the proposed construction.

Mr Cheung concluded that the benefit to ArchiCAD is that it does everything for architects, including rendering and interiors.

Patrick Lee of Surbana Jurong:

"Do you want to get rid of the human aspect, or do you want a computer to do everything?" The result usually is fascist-like architecture.

"Please let the designer design".

Jonathan Redman of FJMT:

His firm creates stunning architecture using Grasshopper to drive ArchiCAD. (It's truly remarkable at how often Rhino and/or Grasshopper -- aka Rhino-GH -- were mentioned at this ArchiCAD conference.

"This one will be a twisted tower -- which everyone seems to be building now."

Kazumi Yajima of Japan's Kajima Corp:

BIM changes peple's lifestyle, for example moms being able to work from home with a BIM system.

His firm has developed a new AI-based construction planning program .He wants to combine AI [artificial intelligence] with IoT [Internet of things] to permit construction robots, plus IoT sensors placed on the building as it is being built. (See figure 7.)

FIGURE 7: Software simulating robotic construction equipment at a building site

Yeon-Soek Jeong of GS E&C:

His firm combines 3D laser scan data with BIM models to find problems. It is remarkable the amount of data GS E&C extracts from BIM, such as excavation plans, plus shoring plans, and utilities, in addition to the usual steel structure, construction planning, and more.

On one site, there was a one-month delay due to site soil conditions, but then they made back the time using 4D planning (time + space).

- - -

Wednesday evening we were at a second Buddhist complex, this one located high in the hills surrounding Kyoto. This evening, the cultural entertainment included taking part in the tea ceremony and a simulated Shogun sword fighting.

- - -

Before the trip, I looked into getting a Japanese SIM card with a data plan. I abandoned the plan, as it would cost me $100 for the week. It turned out not to matter, as there was free WiFi at the airport, on the train, at the hotel, and in the nearby shopping districts.

The other worry for me was that maps of Japan cannot be downloaded to phones, whether from Google or Here. This also turned out to not be a problem for me as I did not travel far: most sights were within a few blocks of the hotel, such as the river, the shopping district, and the former Imperial Palace. (See figure 8.)

Letters to the Editor

Regarding the "Missing Developers" discussion: I loved working with AutoLISP/VisualLISP from 1988 to 2004. But Autodesk beat us over the head repeatedly that they were dumping LISP in favor of sexier (e.g. more marketable) tools like ARX (.NET). Moreover, the LISP community was going to be left behind with outdated tools and no clear path forward. The incredible community base and abundant content that had evolved until then, had zero value to Autodesk, or so it seemed at the time.

I tried my hand at writing books on the subject of Visual LISP, but I couldn't get any help or feedback from Autodesk whatsoever. I never asked for free licenses or special treatment. Just things like fact-checking, and peer review, etc. Nothing. Other authors seemed to figure out the magic formula for getting support, but it seemed to align with non-LISP subject matter. I continued on through several editions only for the benefit of my readers, who still buy them (I'm still surprised at this!)

The writing, for me, is on the wall. I do miss working with CAD programming very much. I would say it was the most fun I ever had within the development realm. There was something magical about writing code and watching it draw and manipulate things on a screen. Taking it further, into business process automation, reporting, materials ordering, construction planning, machining, robotics, and so on was icing on the cake. They were good times indeed. - Dave Stein

The editor replies: I know exactly what you mean, regarding LISP!

Re: The Hardware Hacker

I am a strong advocate of open source for various reasons. The main one is that in general it supports the free exchange of ideas. The concept of gonkai deals with another.

Nearly all innovation is based on previous art ie we stand on the shoulders of previous generations. The way big companies fiercely defend intellectual property stifles many developments. Initially it might look good, but eventually this aggressive focus on sitting on ideas kills the goose with the golden egg. Many big companies basically depend on exploiting the intellectual property they have aggregated by buying up innovative companies and ideas. The older the company the heavier they sit on their ownership.

Let's face it: most of the important innovations of the recent past have not even originated in companies but are the result of government spending. I think the time has come to completely rethink the whole concept of intellectual property and how to deal with it. Pharmacy is a good point in question. - Rene Dalmeijer, proces advies The Netherlands

- - -

When I studied cultural anthropology in college, I learned the difference between western and eastern civilization. It served me well over the years. What's the difference? Same in principle to what you say in your article: "The Western world sees IP [intellectual property] through eyes trained by the centuries-long influence of the enlightenment. It is the individual who reigns supreme, and what is mine is mine. In China, however, there is thinking described as gongkai. You make available your works to others. Then someone else takes it and makes it better -- or at least different." The way I say it is this:

Eastern civilization values the group over the individual

Western civilization values the individual over the group

I follow the view that personal/family property rights are paramount, and that social institutions must be built on that foundation. What's mine is mine, and nobody has a right to tell me what to do with what's mine, unless I volunteer to give it or commit it in some way to others.

When the group takes it from me w/o my consent, they're "plundering me" (to quote Frederick Bastiat in "The Law"). America's founders called that theory of operation a "social compact" or "constitution" or "covenant". - Chris

The editor replies: I agree. I am angry when someone plagiarizes or pirates my work. I work hard to produce my products, using original research. Those who call for free IP are too lazy to invest the time and/or brains to do it themselves.

Mr Chris responds: So how do you keep people from doing that with your PDF ebooks?

The editor replies: I stopped supplying pirates with product. I now only produce PDF ebooks for corporate clients who pay me lump sums. I still sell a few of the other ebooks from time to time, but no longer rely on that income. When pirates make information free, they chock off the supply of information.

Mr Chris responds: That's my dilemma for making drawings of obsolete but wanted auto parts. Once a PDF is in circulation, I need to have a way to ensure that only the person who paid for it can use it. Any ideas how that's possible?

The editor replies: It's not possible. I have spoken a couple of times with execs at Adobe. They recognize the problem, but have not solved it, except for when PDFs are served by their PDF Server. There are two weak workarounds. You can... ... turn off the ability to print the PDF (but it can still be printed using screen grabs) ... require the use of a password to open the PDF (but the password can be shared)

An alternative is to share the original DWG file using a browser-based CAD viewer, where you can turn permissions on and off, such as view-only. I am not sure who all does this.

- - -

Fantastic article!! Thank you! - Dave Stein

Re: Autodesk Subscriptions

A few years ago I bought a car. At the time I was forced to buy a maintenance agreement which replaced my engine the following year. Not a bad deal. I continued that maintenance agreement every year since and received a new engine every year. If I stopped the maintenance, I still could run the car as long as I long as I wished. Just without a new engine.

Now the dealership is telling me that renting the keys will not only get me a new engine every year, but will be cheaper than the maintenance fee. However, if I stop renting the keys, I can no longer start even the old car that I bought originally.

This may be fine if the dealer were to refund my original purchase price, but NOOO! They would rather keep that in their own pockets and leave me with a car that now I'm not allowed to run.

I think I will keep the maintenance agreement. That way, when the cost is raised to the point I'm priced out of it, I can still drive with an old engine -- at least until th dealership figures out a legal way to steal my car back. :( - Thom Holbrook (via WorldCAD Access)

- - -

Many people are unhappy with Autodesk's subscription policy for AutoCAD, as noted here.

However, there is a relatively easy solution for many people: simply purchase a perpetual license for one of the many excellent DWG-based alternatives. They have come a long way and are worth your consideration.

I was speaking to an engineer last week who has been working with AutoCAD for 20 year. She joined a new company, and the owner asked her to look at one of the AutoCAD alternatives to try to save money. She told me, "I was skeptical at first but I'm really impressed. I had no idea that there was such an alternative."

Yes, everyone dislikes change, but the alternatives are not too different to AutoCAD and many support your LISP routines and all of your files, and there can be substantial financial benefits. - Malcolm Davies (via WorldCAD Access) Techevate

- - -

Yes, what the industry needs is competition to Autodesk. Oh wait, there is: Bricsys. Why the letter writers [in issue #941] do not take that option for a roughly 70% reduction in annual upgrade cost (optional upgrades, no less) is beyond me. - Phil Craven

- - -

Had to laugh at your report on Autodesk "profits" [in which Autodesk has now suffered two years of losses]. It is just the beginning of the decline for them.

Using myself as an example, they will not feel any income pain until this coming December. At that time I will not be sending any more money to feed this monster. But the fact I am leaving them does not show up in the current income projections which carry me as a current customer.

This is a growing snowball heading downhill and getting larger as more and more of us pass our renewal date without renewing. I can use HSM [CAM software] for years and do quite well. How much income can Autodesk's self inflicted wound bleed them before they can no longer hide behind the PR [public relations] of a glowing future? - Dave Ault

The editor replies: Autodesk bolsters its standing with financial analysts by boasting about 12 million pirated copies that executives are sure will move to subscription.

Mr Ault responds: Ha ha ha ha. As long as there are perpetual seat holders, they are obligated to have standalone install products. Which of course means these guys are shopping in China for cracked versions of the standalone products. How do Autodesk executives propose to enforce their desires?

Thank You, Readers!

Thank you to readers who donate towards the operation of upFront.eZine:

Alart Van Vloten

Martin van der Roest

Matthew Pearson: corporate donation from CAD fx

Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: